Customer Reviews

The History Channel Presents The Best of Modern Marvels

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is about 35 hours of documentaries from the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" series. Most of the disks have four 45-minute episodes made up of about a half dozen disasters per episode.

The first 4 or 5 disks are mostly death-and-destruction. The disasters range from drilling into a salt dome under a lake (oops!), 600 people dying in fire at the over-crowded Cocoanut Grove nightclub, airplane crashes, bridge collapses, building collapses, dam collapses, mine fires, tanker and paddlewheeler explosions, tower collapses, and...well, you get the idea.

Many of the disasters were a culmination of a series of little errors here and there that finally added up to the big problem, while some were (as one person explains) a "failure of Construction 101" in the case of a parking structure collapse.

Other episodes are more benign "Modern Marvels", such as rubber, distilleries, candy, monumental buildings and bridges, high-tech sex, and toilet tech :-)

The minor negatives include the narrator's delivery which uses too many dramatic pauses so that you don't really...know when he has finished...speaking. Also, there is no episode guide booklet, and the individual DVD cases are a little vague as to the exact contents.

I bought this when it was on one of Amazon's sales, and it worked out to less than three bucks per disk. At the regular going price, it is probably still a good value.

I love documentaries, and Modern Marvels in particular. To my disappointment, this box set was just OK.

First, as mentioned before, the first four or five discs are all about Engineering Disasters, and I even think one of the disasters runs on two of the dvds. Though they are alright, they aren't Modern Marvel episodes.

Second, the episodes that are Modern Marvels aren't the BEST. I can think of two episodes I really wanted to see ... Salt Mines, and Oil Refineries ... aren't on here. 7 of the episodes are about Bridges, and not the bridges you really want to see. Over all, for $30, it is ok.

If you enjoy Modern Marvels: Technical and How-They-Do-It documentaries;
this is great. Several disaster episodes and one with a sex-theme which should have been replaced with something more consistent. However, if you get a good price for this huge collection, it won't matter.

My husband and sons thoroughly enjoyed this selection of marvel dvds. In a word I would say awesome!!

This is a fantastic set, it has it all from engineering disasters to great documentaries.Well put together as you would expect from any History Channel set, if you are going to buy anything buy this you will not be dissapointed.Good value for money , even though I had it shipped in from the States.To get what they put into this seperately would cost you a fortune this is a real credit to the makers of this great series-keep it up History Channel.

Though we are only about half way through, we have been thoroughly entertained. My kids (9 + 11) request it.

Cool set. A lot of very interesting technological marvels, as well as some of the worst engineering blunders of all time. Also a great insight that safety does come first! Many of the engineering disasters shown in this set could have been easily prevented with a little common sense and re-thinking before they started their work! I got the set on sale (cheap!) which made it an even better purchase.

I purchased these since I remembered watching them often growing up. Despite the age of some episodes its amazing how relevant and educational they remain today.

Initially I was disappointed by the number of "Engineering Disasters" episodes included. But after watching them all, I'm happy they were included.

This is a very good dvd set for the price. If you break it down into dollar per hour, it's very cheap entertainment.

I have not managed to get through all of the dvds just yet, but it has been very interesting and educational to watch. I find myself watching it for hours. There are lots of fascinating "Engineering Disasters" featured as well as many other subjects explored. I am repeatedly amazed at the disasters, which most I was unaware of, that shaped the development of better technology and engineering. For 2115 mins of viewing its a great purchase.

The collection offers a wonderful selection of some of the best programs. If you enjoy watching Modern Marvels, you'll be in heaven!